The Surrogate

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Wednesday June 22nd. Switzerland.

Seb had never felt so relieved to get back home. It had taken a lot of persuading, a quick blood pressure check at a private clinic and them nearly missing check-in for their flight but he'd got Holly back home and now she'd be staying put until after Emilia's arrival in around four weeks time.

She'd ended up reaching out not only to Esther but also to her mum, someone who she'd rarely spoken to since the day that Imogen had been taken away. They'd promised to check the apartment and surrounding area as regularly as they could and said they'd call if there was any news to report.

For Seb, meeting Holly's mum had been an experience he wasn't keen to repeat. Isobel Brooks was nothing like he'd imagined her to be; he'd imagined a woman from whom Holly had inherited her traits, a woman equally as pretty but humble and quiet. What he'd got was a woman who was very glamorous, head to toe in expensive designer labels, dripping in jewellery, wearing sunglasses indoors and carrying an equally as expensive Chanel bag on her arm when she'd walked in to Holly's apartment. She'd come across as stuck up and abrupt and had almost seemed to speak her daughter like she was nothing and treated her with contempt. And at the mention of Imogen it was obvious that the blame was still laid very much at Holly's feet, Isobel clearly hadn't forgiven her daughter for Imogen going into care.

Holly hadn't mentioned her mother since, only explaining on the day they'd met how Isobel had married some rich Russian guy who'd changed her for the worse and how she was now living in a big house in Kensington, London.

It was sad, he couldn't imagine not seeing his own parents and not being close to them but it explained why Holly had never mentioned her mother since their first meeting and why he'd never met her until now.

Now it's Wednesday morning and he's just returned from a run. He's been out on his own, choosing not to train with Antti and preferring to take some time out alone to help process the last week or so.

It's no surprise to find that Holly is still in bed, last night she'd barely slept and had ended up coming downstairs where he'd found her dozing on the sofa, in the lounge. Now they're back home he's slightly less worried; her blood pressure still concerns him, as does her general mental and physical health but at least she's in the right place if she needs any medical treatment or if the baby decides to arrive early.

He finds Hayley in the kitchen, jotting something down on a notepad. Her own house in Frankfurt still isn't ready to move back in to but she's been given a date in early August and is hoping to be back home so that Seb and Holly can enjoy the summer break together with their new baby. "I haven't seen Holly yet, I think she's still sleeping," she says as he grabs a glass from a cupboard and wanders over to the sink.

"Yeah she didn't have a great night last night," he replies, filling the glass. He's back to feeling tense again and feeling protective over Holly even though Hayley is just being friendly. She doesn't yet know about Imogen's disappearance, she doesn't know much about Imogen at all really, only that she's Hollys child from a previous relationship and that Seb and Holly were witness to the hit and run that killed Matthew.

With everything that's going on and the baby's arrival just weeks away, Hayley is beginning to feel like Seb and Holly might need their own space back and she offers to leave, "I know my place isn't ready yet but maybe I should look at moving to a hotel for a few weeks to give you two some space. She's got a lot on her plate, you both have, and me being here probably isn't helping."

He finishes drinking before he replies, instantly dismissing the idea, "no, you can stay here. Holly's fine with you being here now, you know that."

"Well the offers there," she looks down at the note pad where she's making a list for a trip to the supermarket.